If you read through the context of the thread on jiujitsugear forum, Paul is the Carlos Machado purple belt that gave Whit McClendon his green belt. The pictures are of Whit. This is Dalla's internal system belt rankings below blue. So Whit, listed as a "Shang Wu Association Grappling Coach". Basically as a BJJ white belt, but wearing a green belt. Under Whit's credentials, nothing is mentioned about being a white belt under the Carlos Machado purple belt who apparantly teaches some time at the school? So it's true Whit doesn't specifically state he teaches BJJ, but a white belt "grappling coach" who probably is teaching BJJ is what people are complaining about.

So stop acting like a douchnozzle and criticizing people on the board questioning BJJ grappling instructors sporting white belt ranks.

Here is probably what happened to paul thomas. He started taking martial arts under some made up bullshit kwanzenbudojitsu, figured out it was bullshit and started taking Judo. Put 2 years in Judo and went coocoo for coconuts when the Gracies hit the scene. Bought some tapes and studied, then saved his pennies for a week long training session in Brazil. Then came back to train a few times with Pedro Alberto, who if I recall correctly taught near san antonio Texas briefly in the 90's. I know this because he choked me unconscious :) Then he enters some sombo competitions, national and pan american meaning at some 100 competitor tourney in some backwater town in Virginia, as anyone can name anything and become world champion. In all he probably has total about 5 years grappling experience, most of it self taught.

Now this 34 yr old grandmaster sifu what the **** McClendon has his own school, and invites his buddy from Tim Mousel's, Paul Thomas to teach with him at some podunk school in BFE Texas. And yes, he is actually wearing a fucking greenbelt with yellow wrestling shoes when wrestling with the above mentioned blue belt, who wears what appears to be a black belt in a MK gi, thus misrepresenting himself.

Thanks but I read the post and comments like this are BS. Im callin it out. I agree that the dude wearing the yellow shoes in every photo is a dork but its the comments about Paul that I hought were stupid.

So what we have here is a Carlos Machado purple belt - your good buddy Paul Thomas, wearing a black belt in a grappling class taking down another grappling instructor wearing a green belt. All this is on a public web site where both are listed as grappling instructors.

After investigation, it seems that we have turned up that the black belt is not a black belt, but a purple belt. Also that the green belt is a Leo Dalla intermediate rank before blue belt. So in other words a white belt. And he has gay shoes.

Thanks but I read the post and comments like this are BS. Im callin it out. I agree that the dude wearing the yellow shoes in every photo is a dork but its the comments about Paul that I hought were stupid.

Then tell your friend Paul to lose his black belt in other styles while teaching grappling classes (or at least ones they use for pictures to promote their TMA).

And tell him that allowing his friend with the gay shoes who is a white belt call himself a "grappling instructor" is bad for BJJ.

Alternatively, I suppose Paul could always trot down to one of Carlos's open mat nites sporting the black belt and see how Carlos feels about it and if any of the BB's rolling want a piece of him.

All in all, this kind of crap is bad for BJJ, and that's why Yrkoon9, myself, and others are pointing it out.

So when did a JUDO blackbelt not count for grappling? Further more Who cares? He has several BB in various grappling arts. What does any of that have to with Yrkoon9's rip on his whole career? Im not complaining about the green belt comments just the ones about PT. Yrkoon9 dosent know Paul and his comments are chicken ****. If I remember correctly PT was at Carlos' for years as an instructor.

If taking up for your friends is being a douche, then im guilty. Where I come from you dont talk out of your ass about people you dont know.

So when did a JUDO blackbelt not count for grappling? Further more Who cares? He has several BB in various grappling arts. What does any of that have to with Yrkoon9's rip on somones whole career? Im not complaining about the green belt comments just the ones about PT. Yrkoon9 dosent know Paul and his comments are stupid.

Yrkoon9 is a pessimist. He's just looking at the glass half empty. We're all sure that the glass is really half full.

When a judo blackbelt stopped counting for grappling was the tournament where BJ Penn won a judo tournament over all the black belts as a BJJ white belt. Most judo players don't have a lot of ground game. Now that I've dissed judo I will say I study it too along with wrestling for non groundwork.

I would cut him some more slack and say maybe he's teaching judo in a BJJ gi.

But he has a student he gave a green belt to (2 stripe white belt) he's calling a "grappling instructor". And his student has gay shoes. And they are in cahoots with a rich guy with land that wears pajamas as a TMA instructor.

So no slack. Unless he dons his purple and gets up to Carlos's regularly to roll with higher ranked BJJ belts consistently.